Questions & Answers about Anteeksi, minä en ymmärrä.
Why is the word en used here instead of just ei?
In Finnish, the word for "no" or "not" is an actual verb that changes depending on who is doing the action. Because the subject is minä (I), the negative verb becomes en (I don't). If you wanted to say "he doesn't", you would use hän ei.
What is the base form of the verb for "understand", and why does it look different here?
The dictionary form is ymmärtää. When we make a verb negative in the present tense, we use the negative verb (like en) plus the stem of the action verb. To find the stem, you take the "I" form (ymmärrän) and drop the final -n. Notice how the hard -rt- in the dictionary form softens into -rr- in the "I" form and the negative form. This gives us en ymmärrä.
Do I always have to include minä, or can I just say "Anteeksi, en ymmärrä"?
You can completely drop minä! Because the negative verb en already clearly tells the listener that "I" am the one who doesn't understand, saying Anteeksi, en ymmärrä is perfectly correct and is actually much more common in everyday spoken Finnish.
Can anteeksi be used for anything other than "sorry"?
Yes, it translates to both "sorry" and "excuse me". You can use it to apologize, as seen in this sentence, but you can also use it to politely get someone's attention before asking a question or squeezing past them on the bus.
Learn Anteeksi, minä en ymmärrä and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free